Egypt was a place of bondage for the children of Israel; but, at the same time, their neighborhood of Goshen seemed like a safe, fertile land. Egypt taught Israel to look down for food to eat: the Nile fed them fish and fertilized their crops, and they could live by sight. In the wilderness, God would teach his children that instead of looking down by sight, they must look up in faith. God would train Israel by feeding them right out of His own hand with manna.
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3)
- The Truth of the Bread
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:49-51)
The Bread of Life, our Lord Jesus, came down from heaven to give His life a sacrifice for our sins, so that we might freely by faith receive eternal life. Christ tasted of our death on the cross that we might taste of His eternal life here on this earth and later in heaven. Jesus, like the wilderness manna that fell to the ground, is offered to every man, woman, and child who will by faith partake.
- The Taste of the Bread
And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. (Exodus 16:15)
Manna tasted like “honey and fresh oil” (Ex. 16:15; Num. 11:8; Ps119:103). Manna was “angels food” (Ps. 78:24-25). It tasted like nothing they had ever had before. So the children of Israel called it “manna,” which means, “What is it?” Egypt and the world cannot produce anything as wonderful as the Bread of Life. Anytime Israel “lusted” and went after the meat that they left back in Egypt, they ended up “loathing” it and wanting God’s bread back (Num. 11:20).
You and I are to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 38:4). The Apostle Paul tasted of the Lord’s life on the road to Damascus and he wrote,
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (Philippians 3:8).
The life of Christ tasted so much better to Paul than His former life as a Pharisee ruler that he gladly “suffered the loss of all things.”
My daughter gagged and almost threw up one time when she tried her little brother’s rice cereal. Hardly a year earlier, she loved that same baby food. What happened? She had tasted of things far better. In the same way, believers who look back to their former days, gag when they think about what they use to enjoy. They now have tasted of much better things than what the world has to offer.
- The Teaching of the Bread
“…that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” (Deuteronomy 8:3b)
Everyone had to gather his or her own bread (Ex. 16:16-18). The manna fell like “handfuls of purpose” all around them; however, it didn’t fall into their mouths. They had to take time and pick it up for themselves. We gather “every word” for ourselves by reading, studying, and thinking about the Word of God ourselves.
Manna was a “daily bread” (Exodus 16:19-21). Manna did not keep overnight, but rather turned to stinking worms. Yesterday’s Christianity stinks today! We can’t live off of the victories of yesteryear. We must have fresh bread every day. Be in your Bible daily!
Manna had a special day (Exodus 16:22-16). The Sabbath for Israel was a special day of rest; they gathered manna and secured all other duties in advance for this special day. Not too many years ago in our country, even the secular world recognized Sunday as the day to worship God. With businesses, ball games, and even gas stations closed, people had the day (not just the morning) set aside for the worship of God. We must reclaim this special day.